Making New Look Old

On Thursday Ronnie, the sweet lady who owns Sweeten Creek Antiques where I have my shop texted me a picture just to let me know that I’d sold a few things.

The definition of

Understatement.

Holes everywhere.

The problem was I really didn’t have anything in The Hopper. The big empty space in the middle is where I usually like to keep some kind of a dining table and the last one I refinished had sold several days ago. Dressers and dining tables are pretty much staples for me. Both sell really well plus they are perfect display surfaces. With my last table gone all of my dishes and platters were shoved all over.

So I went in to HUNT mode.

And as luck would have it, not a table (in my price range anyway) to be had in sight. Or on Craigslist or my usual Thriftstore haunts. So I cleared my schedule for Saturday morning and hit one church yard sale and no less than three neighborhood ones.

Here’s what I found.

Only it didn’t look a thing like this.

More like this:

Now I own one of these fruitwood tables.

I refinished the top darker and painted the apron and leg black several years ago. It sits in a bay window in our kitchen. They are good, solid tables but that way too blonde finish is quite dated. I’ve walked right by these more times than I can count but on Saturday morning by 9:30 I was getting pretty desperate. And at $20 it was a pretty sweet deal. Plus , the young couple I bought it from was super nice!

The first thing I did when I got back home was quickly sand the table top down with my little orbital and 80 grit sandpaper. Then I did what I always do when I stew about what color to paint a piece.

I surf Pinterest like a crazy girl.

So Annie Sloan Old White it was.

This pedestal table has two little leaves on either side that drop down making it pretty versatile. I think it would also be a great foyer table. Then in a pinch it could be pressed in to service for extra guests at dinner.

The top I refinished with just dark wax, no stain at all. I allowed it to cure for 24 hours and then applied a good coat of the clear wax. There were quite a few dings and scratches in the table top go that dark wax settled in to those nicely!

I just love the white pedestal underneath the darker wood top. The color change seems to accentuate its curves more. To me it just looks more stately than the old blonde finish. And more Farmhouse-ish, if that’s even a word 🙂

Plus, it was MUCH easier to paint a single big, chunky pedestal than four legs. I will also be considering this going forward as well.

So, the moral of this little story is don’t ever walk past good bones. . . .